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Having brought in Sam Burton as interim assistant chief fire officer for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service at the start of June, the fire authority has already promoted her to acting Deputy Chief with immediate effect and she will now appoint two interim assistant chiefs ‘to provide additional support across the service.’
Sam was previously an area manager with West Midlands Fire Service and spent time acting up in Oxfordshire before moving across to Shropshire in the midst of the controversy surrounding the offensive WhatApp messages sent by the Shropshire chief and deputy. There have been no further updates from the authority about the status of Simon Hardiman and Adam Matthews.
The announcement about the deputy chief role comes a week after Shropshire Fire Authority held its AGM and discussed a change in disciplinary procedures that would embrace the role of the Deputy Chief Fire Officer. The paper says that its existing procedures were silent about the two most senior roles in the service, with the chief role covered by national arrangements, there was nothing in place for the deputy. The Annual General Meeting included papers updating members on the leadership arrangements but these were heard in private.
At the same meeting, Independent Councillor David Minnery was been reappointed as Chair of the fire authority having held the position of Chair for the past year and will remain in that role for another 12 months, with Labour Councillor Richard Overton continuing as Vice Chair.
Read our previous news story published on 8 May, Shropshire brings in interim leadership as fire authority continues to investigate.